The concept of attaching supportive and retaining devices for children in the back seat of automobiles is not new. For example, the following U.S. patents show some devices for this purpose, but none have the slip covers, none extend to the front seat, and none are raised high enough that the children cannot see each other and still not be in the way of the driver's vision of what is behind them on the road. They include: U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,239,166; 2,006,883; 4,118,812; 4,938,401; 5,123,707; 5,255,958; 5,518,293; and 5,560,680.
Wurzell, U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,707, provides a seat divider for the rear seat, but does not address the problem of children bickering in the rear seat. Wurzell's divider does not extend to a height above a child's eye level and does not extend through an automobile's front seats to prevent the children from seeing and touching each other. The divider of Wurzell is also not very sturdy because it is only supported by inserting the back of the divider into the crevice between the back and bottom of the rear seat, rather than supported by the front seat and seat belt of the rear seat of the automobile.
In Pangburn, U.S. Pat. No. 4,118,812, a divider is supported by a rear seat belt. Pangburn provides slots to allow a seat belt to attach the divider to the rear seat, but there is no additional support from the front seats. In addition, the divider of Pangburn does not extend above a child's eye level and does not provide a comfortable cushion for a child to rest his head.
None of the above-described prior art patents include means for easily converting a seat divider by applying different covers. Another need in the art is for a seat divider which may be securely installed without any additional structures, other than those already provided in the vehicle. There is therefore a need in the art for a full-coverage divider which indeed divides the children in the back of the rear seat of an automobile and which is high enough to fully block the children's view of each other; lightweight and portable; easily attached and removed; economic to manufacture; and securely affixed when in place.